All of Overwatch's new heroes and maps will be free updates

Last month, we learned that Blizzard's team hero shooter Overwatch would be coming to PS4 and Xbox One as a full-priced game and not (as some had speculated) a free-to-play title. Today, game director Jeff Kaplan has revealed that additional Overwatch heroes and maps will be developed for the game post-launch, and that they'll be patched in free of charge - not sold as DLC.

"One of the top things that always comes up is, 'What's gonna happen with Overwatch post-launch in terms of additional heroes and maps?'" Kaplan said in a community update video. "We've thought about this and we've decided the best way to add them to the game is to patch them in as free content and not as DLC."

Kaplan went on to explain that, although the team has "ideas" for heroes and maps, there's no plan in place yet for how often these additions will be implemented. The announcement of free characters and locales also means there's no - as of yet revealed - plan for monetization. However, the fact that Overwatch is being sold both in its basic form and an "Origins Edition" with five extra skins on PC (boxed console versions are all Origins Edition) suggest that cosmetic items may play a heavy role in Blizzard's market strategy.

Initially revealed at Blizzcon 2014, Overwatch is the first new IP from the studio behind Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo in nearly 20 years. It's due on PS4, Xbox One and PC sometime next year.